Genesis - The Waiting Room Lyrics






He panics, feels around for a stone and hurls it at the brightest point.
The sound of breaking glass echoes around the cave.
As his vision is restored he catches sight of two golden gloves
about one foot in diameter hovering away down the tunnel.
When they disappear a resounding crack sears across the roof, and it collapses all around him.
Our hero is trapped once again.

"This is it" he thinks, failing to move any of the fallen rocks





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Genesis The Waiting Room Comments
  1. M.... D....

    Holy heck, Phil is just having a seizure on the drums there.

  2. S.... R....

    Has there really bee n a melody around minute 4?

  3. J.... B....

    BEEN sitting here in the AREA 51 Waiting room. Waiting for Dr. Dyper to give the green light to clap some slippery cheeks.

  4. E.... P....

    This sounds like a bad trip

  5. C.... H....

    This is not for little kids , maybe for Halloween ?

  6. D.... P....

    did Steve hackett do heroin ?

    D.... P....

    From what I understand, none of them were really into anything like that. I think Phil and Mike smoked a little. They were naturally lucid and workaholics.

  7. k.... 5....

    A great example of why Genesis are outstanding....

    k.... 5....

    kayfabe 58 Yes!

  8. B.... M....

    I locked myself in a dark coat closet and listened to this. Very interesting experience

  9. m.... f....

    Definitely some Doors in there -- the spooky strange days, the end, unknown solider, not to touch the earth Doors...

  10. B.... W....

    These guys could literally create any feeling they wanted with their songs. This one invokes some of the creepiest and unsettling feelings I have ever felt.

  11. J.... S....

    I can’t be the only one who’s feeling some early Pink Floyd vibes from this song, right?

    J.... S....

    More like Gong/Hawkwind vibes.

    J.... S....

    Me too.

  12. p.... ....

    Just heard this as part of the sound track on the Ken Burns documentary of Vietnam (episode 4) - really surprised me - but a perfect fit.

  13. g.... b....

    music for ambient?

  14. B.... K....

    The band nicknamed this the "evil jam." According to members, it was a way for them to relieve stress, as Lamb was a very stressful experience for all of them, with Peter leaving for a while, Steve's injured hand, the tense writing sessions, etc. Phil admitted this song was one of the few on the album where all five members were on the same page and unified.

  15. J.... M....

    Phil Collins rules this track.

    J.... M....

    peak of his powers, the playing on this tour is epic

  16. O.... ....

    Sorry, but this sounds like a sack sack reprise of stuff Hendrix did on Electric Ladyland six years prior.

    O.... ....

    the whole album is epic

    O.... ....

    A True Masterpiece!

    O.... ....

    Lol Hendrix didn’t do synthesizers

  17. F.... ....

    I presume the titular waiting room is inside Chthulu's stomach.

  18. J.... E....

    Don't forget Brian Eno...

  19. I.... ....

    3.00 a world war  begun

    I.... ....

    ...
    According to several accounts by Collins, some of "waiting Room" was recorded during a hard rain
    @ 3:00 there was a crack of thunder outside the studio.(*)
    this "stroke of Providence" was left in.

    (*)
    most of the album was recorded in an outbuilding at Glaspant Manor in Carmarthenshire, Wales
    (a less than professional studio) ...
    In the early 70s Glaspant was bought by Angela Lyle (Tate and Lyle) who designed and made stage clothes
    for rock musicians and with her family converted one of the outbuildings into a rehearsal/recording studio.
    Many famous bands would come and stay at Glaspant including:-

    Black Sabbath, Freddie Mercury, Hawkwind
    &
    Genesis (who recorded The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway at Glaspant in 1974)

  20. t.... ....

    2:24, the creepiest thing my ears have ever heard.
    I have a weird reaction to this part, my eyes will start to water but I'm not crying!

    t.... ....

    touhouguyII That’s the best creepy. Visual or auditorial, anything that makes your eyes water is real stuff right there

  21. I.... W....

    true class fantastic music from a fantastic genuine prog rock band

  22. d.... ....

    Phil Collins est géant dans ses changements de rythme

  23. h.... ....

    A truly great piece of music from a great band. 

    h.... ....

    halcyon289 I agree

  24. R.... W....

    the first half of track really does give me the "waiting room" feel. unsettling, fidgeting, mind wandering.

  25. R.... d....

    fuck the commecrcials

  26. g.... ....

    My friend used to work in a large doctor's office, and they would play really soft rock over the speakers.  So for several days in a "waiting room" full of people, we threw this little tune over the speakers at a slightly higher volume to see how people would react.  After it was over, we would resume the regular music.

    After the fifth day, someone in the actual waiting room went up to the desk and said to the receptionist "do you know what song is?"  She replied "no." To which he said "It is called The Waiting Room  It is a song by Genesis from 1974."

    g.... ....

    Great story. Hearing this song in an actual waiting room would make me very uneasy.

    g.... ....

    How did everyone else react?

  27. P.... ....

    Hackett's guitar effects take this track to the next level.

    P.... ....

    +Kyle Tekaucic I bet Tony Banks doesn't agree with you...

    P.... ....

    +RockyF9 Well, some of the synth tones are definitely the Pro Soloist, but some of the sounds in the beginning sound more like an EMS going wobbly...

    P.... ....

    ProgressiveRock1970s Hackett is a pure English gent!

    P.... ....

    lol I can just see Tony Banks rolling his eyes at another overblown credit to Brian Eno on the Lamb.

    Obviously I wasn't there, but Tony has always said Eno contributed very little. And for whatever reason, I believe him.

    P.... ....

    He didn't contribute to every track, of course. But some effects bear his sensibilities.

  28. S.... N....

    Best cut on the album.

  29. O.... ....

    1:53 really sounds like a cat, doesn't it?

  30. o.... ....

    Grateful Dead: "Feedback"

  31. C.... ....

    I resemble in some passages RADIOHEAD.

  32. S.... W....

    Ummagumma in a Factory instead of a forest.

  33. i.... ....

    Pretty much!

  34. C.... ....

    I think I hear several species of small furry animals gathered together in a cave and grooving with a pict

  35. t.... ....

    This is awesome, this is a delusion, a short circuit in high voltage ... the epic of the universe .. why do this to us Phill

  36. W.... ....

    Sweet, sweet cacophony... +_+

  37. n.... ....

    yes, its covers similar ground to King C. but that incredible crash followed by the heavy riff is like being suddenly put on a roller coaster and sent hurtling along to sweet oblivion-- we are almost literally transporting the listener here. A movie could have used it to great effect

  38. p.... ....

    I believe this is the band's homage to "Moonchild" from King Crimson's In The Court of the Crimson King album. The same kind of experimental disjointed sounds...